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Have you heard of Shopify? You’ve probably used it before, but had no idea. Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows users to set up their e-commerce websites and sell online or in person. One million online businesses use Shopify to reach customers. Shopify is easy to use and it favors many small businesses and startups. Due to the pandemic, it is reported that in mid-March to late April 2020, new businesses got an opportunity to grow over 60% as people are now relying on online businesses to stock up their homes. If you’re selling through Shopify, then I have some good news for you.
Shopify and Walmart Partner Up
On June 15th, 2020, Shopify and Walmart announced a partnership that is a direct shot at Amazon. It is through this partnership that Shopify sellers can smile as it will allow them to expand. The Shopify sellers can now apply to join the Walmart platform where they get a chance to reach the site’s 120 million visitors. Walmart will vet these Shopify sellers where they’ll check factors like the quality of the merchandise, how long the seller has been in business, and whether the sellers have experience with Amazon and eBay. By the end of the year, they expect 1,200 Shopify users to be approved.
The Downfall of Amazon?
Going head-to-head with Amazon is not an easy task as Amazon promises its third-party sellers the ability to reach 300 million customers. Currently, the store has 150 million Amazon prime subscribers. Amazon has even employed 175,000 employees in 3 months and within the first quarter this year, it made $175B in sales. But there have been bumps in the road. In mid-March, Amazon deprioritized many of its third-party sellers due to the pandemic. This caught many sellers off guard. In April, it is claimed that Amazon employees used the market place data to develop competing products, something that violates the company’s policies. Amazon responded by stating that they strictly prohibit their employees from using non-public seller specific data to determine which private label products to launch.
The promise of online businesses remains real for many businesses. A survey by Zentail shows that 90% of the online retailers who started selling on a high profile market place experienced growth in the first year, while half of them quadrupled their sales. All this goes to show that market places may just be what the independent sellers need right now.
What do you think about Shopify-Walmart partnership? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
